hughw

Both Austrian (as Tyrolean) and Air Canada TATL have some seating somewhat comparable to E+ on UA. Does UA GOLD /*A Gold allow access to these seats without a fee?

What about checked baggage and elite security lines?

rankourabu

No access to better seats.
In fact on AC - you will sit way in the back

You get Star Gold luggage allowance.

IADFlyer123

Checked Bags are a Star Alliance Benefit. Elite Security would be at the discretion of that Airline. I was given expedited security at Athens, Istanbul and Geneva by Lufthansa, Turkish and Swiss because of *G - But again as I said, it also varies by the agent. If you are nice to them, they might stamp you for Elite Security.

Seats - Hit or Miss. You can all AC or Austrian and ask, but be ready to get a normal seat if they say no.

JBord

This has always been my understanding too. But about a month ago I flew YUL-ORD, and was able to select a seat at the front of the Y cabin. Then for some reason, at the gate, they upgraded me to F on a half-full flight. I'm sure I looked bewildered as I thanked the GA.

So I agree not to expect more than you've described, but they do seem to manually prioritize *G sometimes. I'd say it wouldn't hurt to ask nicely at the gate for a better seat.

astroflyer

AC does not offer priority security to non-AC elites. Nexus (and usually GE) get expedited security in Canada. They also recently implemented a version of E+, but they don't even offer it to their golds for free on every flight. At the moment though, at check-in, it's a free-for-all and anyone can pick any seat, so checking in at T-24 is quite advantageous.

Austrian and other members of the LH group can often be persuaded to give you a nice seat over the phone or at check-in, but I believe that is all in flux a bit now with varying results.

Baggage and lounge access are universal among *A carriers. Just be careful as the UA 70 lbs limit is usually 50 lbs on other carriers.

boss315

+1: *G on AC is like having leprosy! They treat you like .....

EnvoyBoy

AC has three North American econ fares:

Tango--deeply discounted Econ, non-refundable
Flex--discounted Econ, non-refundable
Latitude--refundable Y fare

If you buy Flex or Latitude and are *A Gold, you can choose one of the preferred seats without a fee.

I do this a minimum of once a month with my UA1K number in the rez and never had a problem.

I can't speak to international.

astroflyer

This is sadly no longer the case. See the AC webpage here:
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...rredseats.html
The benefits for *G on flex and latitude are now completely phased out.

Even the AC *G members (their Elite 50K's) now have to pay 50% of the price when traveling on a flex fare (think of United S or T or above) when traveling internationally.

lhrsfo

On AC, I've found that I get excellent seats when I book through AC. However, if it's a UA codeshare ticket, then I'm in the back or in the baggage hold.

skycrab

For us, there are only 2 *A routes to YWG from LHR: UA and AC.
I'd rather go through 2 immigration processes by going UA via ORD than 1 via YYZ/YUL.

Would happily choose the legroom of the UA 767-300 3-class in E+ over the power/USB/IFE/Free alcohol in Y on AC.

In fact, I can't think of any reason to choose AC over UA if you get E+

EDIT: Also since last flying AC, I'll now get 25% PQM and 0 PQS for the domestic connecting flight, so forget that!

astroflyer

Just to be clear, this has all changed in the last month or two. Regardless of with whom you book, your 1K status will not get you preferred seats ahead of time on AC. Even the lounge agents are no longer allowed to do advance seat assignments.

emcampbe

Sort of for baggage, I wouldn't call it "universal" since the amount allowed varies based on some factors. All *G are entitled to extra baggage, but what exactly you are entitled to varies by carrier, route and sometimes class.

All *G receive 1 extra bag using the piece concept (I think most, if not all carriers on itineraries to/from the US and Canada) and I believe 20kg extra if it is using the weight concept (most Euro/Asian carriers on itineraries to/from a destination outside of North America). Those are *A minimums, and some go beyond (I.e. - UA gives you an extra bag and ups the weight to 70 from 50lbs, IIRC).

Some start the free allowance at 1 under the piece concept, and it may be a 50 or 70 pound limit. LH also gives extra by class, for example, 1 for economy TATL, two for business, and another extra for F pax. *G should get an additional above that.

To make things even more confusing, if the itinerary starts or ends in the U.S., the allowance is based on that of the carrier marketing the first segment, and that applies for the entire itinerary. However, if the trip is outside of the US (or only connecting through the US) IATA Most significant carrier rules apply. On a TATL, that means a short hop on carrier 1 connecting to a TATL on carrier 2 would get the latter allowance (if origin or destination is not US). IATA also is based on direction, so to speak, so an outbound and return could have different allowances based on the MSC in each direction.

Correct on priority security in Canada - technically limited to AC elites and certain AMEX cardholders. although, YMMV sometimes. Before the Nexus security lanes opened, when in F on UA, they let me through ~50% of the time, the other half saying AC only. Interestingly, the signs, at least in YYZ, for Nexus security still don't say anything about GE, but when leaving on the weekend, they yelled out Nexus/GE at entry to the line. First time I'd heard that, so YMMV perhaps.

bluedog423

Yeah, until early August, if you had a AC flight purchased through United, you could get access to Preferred Seats on AC as a *Gold for free. I called them asking if I could pay for the preferred seats (like anybody can on AC ticket stock), but they said they have no way to even accept payment (except at check-in). Cannot reserve a seat online either (interface doesn't seem to work) and call wait times to AC are also always >30 minutes...I did get assigned a (standard) seat relatively near the front after talking to somebody, at least.

eefor jfp

Austrian used to be pretty good about giving *G in economy a seat near the front of the economy section. In addition, you got seat blocking which meant the empty seat next to you was one of the last to be given away. My experience recently hasn't been as good as last year, but I don't know if that's a change in policy or just my online travel agents (Priceline, Expedia, Lufthansa) doing a poor job of communicating my OZ Star Gold status to Austrian.

If nothing else, the Senator (*G) lounge in Vienna is pretty nice with good food, decent drinks (much better than what UA serves in their clubs and free to boot) and nice seats and views. The one downside is that they can be somewhat crowded since they are pretty small during certain times of the day (especially early evening during the week).

PV_Premier

havent had any experience with OS or AC, but both TAP and LH have treated me well as a *G on intra-EU flights with priority seating, boarding, and a few random comp upgrades and op-ups...and always a seat next to me blocked if in coach and the flight load allows it.